Life for Philippi resident Lizeka Nceda was made a bit more comfortable when members of the Qina Daki Initiative donated food parcels, school uniforms and blankets, and painted her one-roomed shack, on Saturday February 3.
The 53-year-old mother of three is battling to make ends meet, relying on neighbours for hand-outs and a combined social grant of R760 for her two children. She said things got worse when her 22-year-old son became paralysed after he was shot during a robbery last year.
Ms Nceda could not contain her excitement and wept silently as members of Qina Daki handed over the goods. “We are solely dependent on our social grant. We are battling to even buy the basics. My second child has decided to quit school because of our suffering. I appeal to anyone to help us,” she said.
Ms Nceda said she was still considering where she would get the money to buy food as the little groceries she had had, was already finished. She said she experienced tough times, but had to be strong for the sake of her children and thanked the organisation for “restoring her dignity and showing her the spirit of Ubuntu”.
Qina Daki founding member, Siyabulela Dlokweni, said he started the initiative last year because he wanted to do something meaningful to assist families and children.
He said they understood that their help might be a drop in the ocean but at least for a week the family wouldn’t have to worry about what were they going to eat. He made it clear that they were not rich individuals but ordinary people who wanted to make an impact on community development. “We want to make a change in the communities we live in. We have taken upon ourselves the daunting task of helping needy people. We are also calling on local businesses to extend a helping hand in the areas where they operate. We will continue helping wherever we can. We have also donated food parcels to another family in Philippi,” he said.
Mr Dlokweni said part of their plan was to visit a school in Kraaifontein which had low passrates and try to help them improve their academic performance.
The 28-year-old said he had started the initiative with three family members and soon after, their friends joined them. They have 18 members.
Another member of Qina Daki, Khululwa Gcabo, said she felt proud to be part of a group of young people who were doing something positive to uplift the lives of other people. The 26-year-old said if everyone did their bit to help others, a lot of challenges facing the country could be defeated, and urged young people to be agents of change.